Spotlight on Green News & Views (previously known as the Green Diary Rescue) appears twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Here is the most recent previous Green Spotlight. More than 24,780 environmentally oriented stories have been rescued to appear in this series since 2006. Inclusion of a story in the Spotlight does not necessarily indicate my agreement with or endorsement of it.
OUTSTANDING GREEN STORIES
Pakalolo writes—Faster than Predicted! Upside-Down 'Rivers' Threaten Antarctic Ice Shelves: “Of all the glaciological processes that comprise the massive Antarctic Ice Sheet, it is the ice shelf that is the most at risk due to climate change. Because, as the most seaward extension of a glaciological system, ice shelves are in contact with both the air above and the underlying ocean [...] A new study led by researchers at the National Snow and Ice Data Center and co-authored by researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography found that warm ocean water is carving ‘upside-down rivers’ into the underside of the ice shelves, weakening and rotting them from below and making them vulnerable to collapse. This phenomenon is occurring on all the ice shelves of Antarctica and according to the study the channels can be tens of miles long, and up to 800-feet ‘deep.’”
Ranting Rooster writes—Over 2000 Water Systems Lead Contaminated, RIGHT NOW! ”While Democrats and Republicans are busy playing the blame game, the people of Flint still don’t have clean drinking water, tens of thousands have been poisoned (which IS a CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY), and no one knows where we are going to get the money to help the people of Flint. But we certainly have enough money to try and topple a regime we don’t like in Syria, so big oil can run their pipe lines to under cut Russian oil to Europe. What is happening in Flint, is actually happening all across our country, RIGHT (self censored) NOW, most predominately in communities of POC. USA Today reports: While a harsh national spotlight focuses on the drinking water crisis in Flint, Mich., a USA TODAY NETWORK investigation has identified almost 2,000 additional water systems spanning all 50 states where testing has shown excessive levels of lead contamination over the past four years.”
Bev Bell writes—Gustavo Castro Soto and the Rigged Investigation into Berta Cáceres’ Assassination: “The sole eyewitness to Honduran social movement leader Berta Cáceres’ assassination on March 3, 2016 has gone from being wounded victim to, effectively, political prisoner. Now Gustavo Castro Soto may also be framed as the murderer of his long-time friend.Both the Mexican Ambassador, Dolores Jiménez, and Castro himself are worried that he will be charged by the government for the killing, they told the National Commission of Human Rights of Honduras on March 16. A writer and organizer for environmental and economic justice, Castro has been forbidden by local authorities from leaving the country to return to his native Mexico until April 6, at least. Since being released from several days in Honduran government custody, he has been forced to take refuge in the Mexican Embassy in Tegucigalpa.”
CRITTERS AND THE GREAT OUTDOORS
PHScott writes—The Daily Bucket: It's a Woodpecker Obviously but: “It's a Woodpecker obviously but like so many other attempts to ID a bird or plant, you can never quite find photos or descriptions in all those books and sites that mirror what you are seeing. Frustrating yes… lack of training true, but learning by observation and repetition is cool. That experience plus deduction gives you insight. By the way, that's a Hickory tree leafing out and the woodpecker is working that crack forced on the tree from a too tight wire or clothesline decades ago. Please see comments below to find out how obviously wrong I was!”
Lenny Flank writes—Daily Bucket: A Walk at St Marks Wildlife Refuge: “A few days ago, PHScott and I took a walk through the St Marks Wildlife Refuge near Tallahassee FL. Lots of critters out and about….”
matching mole writes—Dawn Chorus: Birds in the Water: “Howdy Dawn Choristers. No great words of wisdom this week just a couple of series of images of birds enjoying the water in Florida State Parks, just like the tourists. Above and below is a Pine Warbler taking a bath in a forest stream at Torreya State Park.”
owktree writes—Daily Bucket: Schuylkill Walk - Last Day of Winter: “A longish photo diary to establish a baseline for plants and flowers being seen along the Schuylkill River Trail in Philadelphia. Lots of stuff so far that I can not immediately identify. Please see my earlier diaries on this area for the initial wildlife sightings and other observations. These photos are from walks along the Schuylkill River on March 18th and March 20th. One thing I noted in trying to identify these plants is that most of the quick internet options concentrate on “showy” garden plants and seem to ignore anything with small flowers.”
OceanDiver writes—The Daily Bucket - a private moment: “The Trumpeter Swans have been elusive this winter. There are always a few of the thousands who spend the winter in the Pacific Northwest who hang out here in the islands, resting and foraging in our ponds and marshes, waiting until theirs up north in Alaska thaw in the spring. Why they frequent some marshes and not others here is a mystery. I haven’t seen them in the marsh across the road from my place since last fall when they first arrived for the winter. The only marsh where I reliably see them is surrounded by dense thickets. I’ve tried to squeeze through the Nootka roses and blackberry brambles to get a clear view but even on the other side I’m stopped by mud and deep water, with cattails and sedges over my head. My only view is through the thicket. The swans know they are well-protected, even with a road 50 feet away. They do not notice, or care, if they hear me by the side of the road. I snap a few mostly blocked photos, for documentation purposes….it was only later when I looked at the pictures I realized what they were doing.”
CLIMATE CHAOS
Lunkhead writes—Holy F***ing Sh**! We are Doomed: “Yes, it’s global warming time again, just like it is EVERY day. (The proper term is anthropogenic climate change). The numbers are in for February, and they are f***ing brutal: Earth got so hot last month that federal scientists struggled to find words, describing temperatures as ‘astronomical,’ '’staggering’ and ‘strange.’ They warned that the climate may have moved into a new and hotter neighborhood. This was not just another of the drumbeat of 10 straight broken monthly global heat records, triggered by a super El Nino and man-made global warming. February 2016 obliterated old marks by such a margin that it was the most above-normal month since meteorologists started keeping track in 1880, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. NOAA said Earth averaged 56.08 degrees Fahrenheit (13.38 degrees Celsius) in February, 2.18 degrees (1.21 degrees Celsius) above average, beating the old record for February set in 2015 by nearly six-tenths of a degree (one-third of a degree Celsius).”
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Deniers Losing Public Battle: “A new Gallup poll shows that though climate deniers continue to hold the majority of Congress hostage, the general public is getting too savvy for their nonsense. Compared to responses in 2015, 10 percent more of the adults polled said they were concerned about climate change. Nearly 60% of Americans now recognize that climate change has already begun, and only 10 percent think it will never happen. When it comes to human attribution of warming, the numbers have moved similarly, with 65 percent correctly blaming humans and only 31 percent saying its due to natural causes. Even 40% of Republicans are concerned. Deniers have yet to acknowledge the polling.”
grumpynerd writes—This is what climate change looks like: “It’s important to express solidarity with Belgium at this time of grief and fear, but we have to also start thinking longer term about these kinds of events. One of the overlooked factors leading to the Paris and Brussels attacks is something we’ll be living with a long time: climate change. We have to start making this point: regional political instability and the resulting export of terrorism are climate change problems. And no doubt we’ll be ridiculed for saying that. ‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ some people will say, ‘the problem is radical Islam.’ Well the Assads have ruled over radical Islamists for decades, and have ruthlessly but successfully put down past Islamist risings.”
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Denier Desperation Detailed in Court Filing: “As the litigation of the EPA’s Clean Power Plan rolls on and the deadline for amicus curiae or ‘friend of the court’ briefs approaches, it’s worth taking a look at one filed by thirteen regular voices of inaction on behalf of the states and industry advocates opposing the plan. The denier brief claims to provide scientific evidence that climate change isn’t happening. What it really does is expose that climate deniers have run out of sensible objections to climate change. The brief rehashes the debunked arguments of a 2013 brief filed by mostly the same motley crew, in the Utility Air Regulatory Group V EPA case, which established that the EPA has authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate carbon dioxide emissions. If the Court wasn’t persuaded by the argument then, one wonders why it would be now.InsideClimate News asked experts to weigh in. Michael Mann described the brief as ‘exhibit A in the case for intellectual bankruptcy of industry-funded climate change denialism.’”
jkozma writes—Letter to James Inhofe: How to expose Global Warming for the hoax it really is: “While looking over links from a recent column by Paul Krugman, I found an interesting research paper on the psychology of climate science denial, NASA faked the moon landing—Therefore (Climate) Science is a Hoax: An Anatomy of the Motivated Rejection of Science, Stephan Lewandowsky, Klaus Oberauer, Gilles Gignac (in press, Psychological Science). Based on questionnaire responses by visitors to climate blogs, the researchers found that people who endorse laissez-faire free-market economics or believe in various conspiracy theories are very likely to reject climate science as well. The mention of free markets got me thinking, free association style, about all the news coverage of late on Internet gambling. Fantasy sports has become a huge business, and now there's even betting on the presidential election. Though they currently "can't accept USA-based customers", there's even a website that takes bets on "Trump's Manhood.”
ENERGY
Nuclear, Coal, Oil and Gas
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—EELI Continues Wasting Coal Money: “The ongoing efforts of the Energy and Environment Legal Institute (EELI) to harass the EPA were set back on Monday, when a federal appeals court denied EELI's request to file an argument that the EPA illegally colluded with groups. EELI is claiming that the Clean Power Plan is “invalid” because the EPA communicated with green groups like the Sierra Club and Natural Resources Defense Council during its creation. The court rejected the filing without explanation, though its decision may be because regulatory agencies frequently talk with stakeholders. Where EELI sees collusion, pretty much everyone else sees standard operating procedures. Adding insult to injury is a recent revelation that EELI’s Chris Horner has been paid as a ‘Regulatory Counsel’ for the now-bankrupt Alpha Natural Resources, according to Alpha’s bankruptcy documents.”
Emissions Controls & Carbon Pricing
Douglas Godfrey writes—Stop Global Warming - Go Solar: “I can have my lights, computers, entertainment system, A/C and fridge all running without a single kW of electricity from the power company. I will be nice and cozy in the coldest winter nights and can shower as long as I want to without worrying about running out of hot water. All without using a single CCF of natural gas from the gas company. In the rare event of a week long period where it is cold and cloudy, I can fire up my wood stove. Every house, apartment building, school, factory, office building, in fact every structure with either a flat roof or a roof with any exposure to the sun should have solar electric and/or solar thermal. 1/4 of all fossil fuels are used for domestic or process heat. 1/3 of all fossil fuels are used for electricity. All of the carbon used for heating and electricity can be replaced by solar. That is more than 1/2 of the total fossil fuel consumption.”
Renewables, Efficiency & Conservation
gmoke writes—Recycled Solar: Three Toned Tuned Solar Cloche:
CANDIDATES, STATE AND DC ECO-RELATED POLITICS
A Siegel writes—Elizabeth Warren's glaring gap re @RealDonaldTrump: ”Even so, Senator Warren misses the most critical and fundamentally truthful point: Electing Donald Trump could well be the final nail on the coffin for our chance to avert catastrophic climate chaos. Simply put, despite concerns about inadequate progress or measures (for, at least, the first term), the vast majority of the U.S. government's progress on climate change in recent years is attributable to the Obama White House & Administration—to President Barack Obama. [...] President Donald Trump -- and the people he would populate the Administration with -- almost certainly would work diligently to put the brakes on (and outright reverse) the progress that has been and is being made to reduce the risks of catastrophic climate change. Unlike everything else on Senator Warren's list, the next President could put the brakes on or accelerate U.S. government efforts related to climate change … alone.”
SJohnson writes—Hillary Clinton: The Climate Change President: “Hillary Clinton’s Clean Power Plan, will not only will save billions of dollars each year by implementing efficiency standards for cars, trucks, and appliances. It will also prevent premature deaths from asthma and prevent 90,000 asthma attacks. ‘I won’t let anyone take us backward, deny our economy the benefits of harnessing a clean energy future, or force our children to endure the catastrophe that would result from unchecked climate change.’ Clinton wants to make the U.S. the clean energy superpower of the 21st Century. By the end of her first term as president, Clinton wants 500 Million solar panels installed. The goal is for the U.S. to generate enough clean energy to power all homes in the next ten years.”
Liberal Thinking writes—One More Presidential Debate--On Climate Change: “A good discussion of climate change has been totally absent from all presidential debates. This issue cannot be ignored. The next President’s first term will be completely dominated by climate change. It’s important to know where our candidates stand on this and how they will handle it. It’s vastly more important than how they stand on every other issue, with the exception of campaign financing, and only because fixing campaign financing is critical to dealing with this issue. In case anyone doubts the importance of dealing with climate change, let me remind you that what you often hear in the movies is literally true of what will happen to us if we don’t deal with this: We’re all going to die! And I don’t mean in our own good time. So, I propose we have one more debate between the two remaining candidates, and this time it should not be sponsored by a news (I use the aaterm loosely) organization. It should be sponsored by environmental and scientific groups. And it should focus on the environment, specifically on climate change.”
WILDERNESS, NATIONAL FORESTS AND PARKS & OTHER PUBLIC LANDS
Lyn Jensen writes—Feinstein Response to Save Oak Flat for Apaches: “Recently I signed an online petition to Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) to protest federal land (sacred to the San Carlos Apache tribe) being “swapped” away to Resolution Copper for mining. Below is the canned e-mail response I received from Feinstein today. [...] A significant number of Native American tribes, conservationists, and other groups oppose this proposed land exchange because they believe that mining may damage lands sacred to Arizona's San Carlos Apache Tribe. I am extremely mindful of the need to respect and help preserve Native American culture, as California is home to the largest Native American population in the country. On November 5, 2015, Senator Bernard Sanders (I-VT) introduced the "Save Oak Flat Act" (S. 2242), which would repeal the authorization and requirement for a land exchange between the U.S. Forest Service and Resolution Copper. S. 2242 currently awaits action by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, of which I am not a member.”
ECO-ESSAYS & PROPOSALS
SninkyPoo writes—The debate is over - here's my cunning plan: “Resolution: when writing blog posts about climate change, whether here or at my poorly-maintained blog, I will no longer link to evidence or scientific proof of climate change as an atmospheric and planetary phenomenon that is accepted by approximately 97% of all working scientists with an opinion about it. I am not even going to link to a source that supports those statistics. Why, you might ask? Because the time has come to stop it. Perennially linking out to sources for the nuts and bolts of basic climate change simply makes us who write about it appear to be pleading our case. It makes climate change into a topic that’s up for debate, and that needs special entreating, rather than cut and dried, established, non-controversial FACT. And it’s way past time to stop doing that.”
SninkyPoo writes—Climate change - don't let them get away with it: “As I’ve followed the climate change conversation on Twitter and in the media, I’ve slowly been building up a mental picture of the average “citizen denier” (as opposed to the “professional deniers” in Congress, who are remunerated for their position on the issue). Recently I’ve begun trying to work out the components of citizen denial, not just because understanding may help me communicate better about climate change, but also because it’s fascinating to ponder what makes the people who tweet me such charming things tick.”
AGRICULTURE, FOOD & GARDENING
Joieau writes—General Mills to label GMOs: “Cereal giant General Mills announced on March 18th that it will start labeling its products for GMO content nationwide in order to comply with a Vermont GMO labeling law scheduled to go into effect on July 1st of this year. In this the company joins theCampbell Soup Company, which announced in February that it would label its products for GMO content voluntarily ahead of the law. Both companies support federal legislation that would prevent a patchwork of confusing and/or contradictory state labeling laws by establishing a national standard for labeling. Despite various state and federal efforts over the years championed by Big Ag, GMO seed producers and agrochemical companies to prevent foods from being labeled for GMO content, the latest effort failed by one vote in December as a policy rider attached to the federal omnibus spending bill in the Senate. Close to 90% of Americans surveyed support mandatory GMO labeling of food products.”
Verdi writes—THE ORGANIC HUMAN! “It is claimed that organic food have higher nutrient density. Consuming organic food will also reduce the ingestion/absorption of harmful pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, synthetic growth or breeding hormones, antibiotics or GMOs. Also organic farming is less harmful to soil, bees or the environment in general. So, the reason we want or prefer organic is simply to avoid chemicals that maybe harmful to our health and organic farming is good for the environment. Yes! Those are good reason to go organic food wise! BUT, how about organic humans? How about finding other ways to stop ingesting harmful chemicals that exists all around us, in our daily life?”